People talk about Black Friday in terms of shopping. But I love it in terms of commuting (by bike!).

Nobody is going to work at 7am on the Friday after Thanksgiving – nobody. The road is empty. I actually saw a piece of paper blow across an empty 1792 and thought that this was what cycling after the apocalypse would be like. It was great.

The best moment was when I got to 1792 and Lake, where I hang that left turn to run to Eatonville. Usually at this time all six lanes are filled by streams of motorists with a half-dozen in my turn lane (either gassing me from in front or baking me from behind (those big FUV radiators)). Today, there was nobody, just nobody. Rode up, looked at the red light, looked around, not a car to be seen. So, yes, let’s blow that mother.

The ride home should be nice, too. I don’t have any box stores on my route, so I’m expecting a quiet ride. Everyone will be casual, nobody will be angry from work (nobody’s managers are in, right?).

If you didn’t ride, you missed your chance. Maybe next year…